


tales from below (where the city now sleeps)

by tinybox



Series: Rewind (fast forward) [8]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Diary/Journal, Family, New York City, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-10-27 02:16:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 4,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17757911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinybox/pseuds/tinybox
Summary: Just because New York City is now closed off, doesn't mean people aren't trying to sneak in.Some are tourists, others are historians, and a few are just looking for a place to hide.Cody, with great reluctance, brings them to the one section the public is allowed to see.





	1. what still remains

"For any seasoned explorer, the allure of New York City is almost too much to bear. While the average citizen may, from time to time, feel mildly curious about the foundation on which their city is built, most are not curious enough to do anything about it. 

There are, of course, many dumb teenagers who attempt to sneak in, but so far, no one under the age of 21 has managed to get past the barriers set up. 

Furthermore, although the common misconception is that the various barriers are built to keep citizens from New York, it's actually there to protect us. Left unchecked, the mutagen levels have no doubt risen enough to have contaminated everything, including the air. Despite the numerous studies from veritable sources that show that most of New York is a toxic wasteland that will kill you the second you step past the barrier, many conspiracy theorists claim that the government is attempting to cover up something. Yes?"

The tour guide, snapping a piece of purple gum, boredly asks a young boy who had been furiously waving their arm for the last five minutes.

"How come we can come here then?" he asks, first pointing at the small enclosure, then at the glass barrier, which is hung several hundreds of feet above the actual city itself, allowing the tourists a view at the very tops of some of the tallest buildings, but not much else. Anything below is shrouded in what looks like a thick, grey fog.

The tour guide, snapping her gum between one of her four mouths, drawls out an uninterested, "No clue. Any other questions?" 

Several others raise their hands. The tour guide sighs. 

"You with the yellow hat."

"Are there any other ways to access New York City?"

"Only if you have a high enough clearance. Next?"

The man interrupts, asking, "How do you get clearance? I'm a historian, and I'm writing my thesis on the ancient buildings-"

"Yeah, no one cares. Anyway, if you don't have clearance, you won't know how to get clearance. Does that answer your question? Good."

The man looks like he's about to interrupt again, but the guide steamrolls over any potential discussions or debates. "Thank you all for coming here. We appreciate your patronage. This is the last tour group of the evening, so please mind your step as you head towards the elevators. The Gift Shop will be open for another thirty minutes, but you can't stay here."

The group slowly trickles out, the man with the yellow fedora grumbling to himself as he leaves. 

The three turtles, who had been listening from the back, are about to leave when Cody says, "Hang on, I have to introduce you to Shel'mar."

The other visitors are now gone, leaving Donatello, Leonardo, and Raphael (along with Cody) alone with the tour guide, who has their back to to them and doesn't appear to have noticed they haven't left yet.

Cody calls out, "Shel'mar, it's me, Cody."

The alien turns around. "Hey, Cody." She sounds more interested than she had been earlier. "I thought you would have memorized this tour by now."

"I have. But my friends haven't yet."

Shel'mar is slightly shorter than Cody, but wider, her face large enough to fit two average sized mouths on her face. Her skin is covered with patches of black scales. The rest of her is humanoid, but on the palms of her hands are two mouths, one on each hand. 

"Nice to meet you." She holds out a hand politely, before looking to Cody with a whispered, "This is how you greet each other, right? I failed my human communications course."

Raph is looking at her hand, more specifically, the mouth on it, with a face Leo recognizes as  _I would be freaking out but I don't want anyone to think I'm a wimp._

Donatello doesn't seem to be grossed out, but rather clinically interested. Despite his curiosity, he seems too nervous about breaking some sort of intergalactic treaty to shake Shel'mar's hand.

Leonardo, taking one for the team, shakes the offered hand, and is surprised when it feels like a normal handshake, albeit a bit strong.

"Nice to meet you," he offers, and the mouth on the right side of the face (the one not chewing gum) smiles.

"If I may ask," Don queries, "you don't seem very interested in this place, but-"

"Nah, I like history. I just hate working here, and I can't stand this city."

Raph, now defensive, bites out "Yeah? How come?"

Shel'mar shakes her head. "It's like being in one of your human graveyards. I don't understand how anyone would want to come here."

Cody awkwardly smiles. "Well, the turtles thought it would be nice to see their old city, so I brought them here."

Shel'mar blinks. "Really? I thought there were four of you guys."

Leonardo, standing close to the large glass windowpane, distractedly says, "Mikey's sick."

"Oh."

"Hey, um, is there any way to get into the city?" Raph asks.

Shel'mar made the so-so gesture. "Technically there is, but...like I said earlier, most people can't access it."

Cody steps forward. "Actually, there was a reason why I came here. Can you help us?"

Shel'mar sighs. "Cody, I'm not going to let you break the law."

"But-"

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Now."

With that of them were shoved unceremoniously up the stairs and out the door.

"She's...a lot stronger than she looks."

"No duh, Cody." Raph snarks back.

"Don, is there anything else we can do? We did promise Mike, after all."

"I think so...but I'll need a day or so to figure out the details."


	2. homewards

_In hindsight,it was probably a bad idea to come down here_ , Leonardo thinks. Logically, they were all aware that they were living over the remains of New York City, but knowledge and experience are two different things; standing in the middle of the street, Leo is suddenly hit by the fact that every single person that ever lived in New York has been dead for a long time. 

There are graves out there with his brother's names on them, his included, and yet all them are walking around, alive.There is something in his mind that recoils from the concept. 

 

_do not stand at my grave and weep;_

_i am not there, i do not sleep._

 

"Man, this place has really gone downhill since we last saw it," Mikey says, but even he sounds...strained. 

Cody is looking back and forth at all of them, biting his lip, hands wringing in worry. Despite his efforts, he cannot truly imagine what it must be like to see their city like this. For Cody, this place is a historical treasure trove, not an heavy reminder of things the turtles hadn't realized they'd lost. 

Raph bops Mikey on the head. "Mike, we're in the sewers. It never was good to begin with."

Both of them are technically right. The sewers of New York were never sanitary to begin with, but that was when they were functional. Now after years of disuse, trash and waste has clogged entire areas, smelling so bad it could knock a turtle off their feet. 

And yet...it's still familiar to them, still  _theirs_ in a way that nothing else from New New York has ever been able to replicate. 

They pass a bunch of small pipes, and Mikey shows them that he'd carved his initials in the wall next to it. In fact, they were still there, also with the carving of what was supposed to be himself.

"That kinda looks like a moose, Mike."

"Shut up Don, you clearly don't understand true art."

 

"Here we are," Donnie proclaims. Cody looks at what appears to be another dead end with a puzzled expression. 

"Um..." He trails off, not wanting to imply that he thinks Don's lost it. 

 

"We're ninjas," Raph smirks. "We're very good at hiding."

Mikey gave him a fist bump. "WHOOOSH!"he proclaims.

Leo sighs. "Mikey, must you always do annoying sound every time you do that?"

Mikey smirks, an evil expression in the corners of his grin.

Don pulls at what, at first appeared to be another pipe.

"It's a lever!"Cody exclaims.

This revealed an ADT Security Pad, which Don punches in a long series of numbers. 

There's a grinding sound, and slowly, the wall slides up to reveal a metal door. 

"Woah..."

"Like Raph said," Leo said, a small smile forming, "we're very good at hiding in plain sight. It's kind of our thing."

Don grabs the doorknob; it turns easily under his hand. There is a collective moment of silence as Donatello opens the door, a hush that settles among them all.

Without giving himself a chance to change his mind, he steps into the lair, the others close behind.

They're home, even though it's not the way they wanted to be. 

 

The lair has seemingly well stood the tests of time, though not without damage. The pipes on the walls are covered in rust, and aside from the couch, all that remains in the communal area are two cardboard boxes, both taped shut.  

"What happened to the TV?!" Mikey wails, pointing at the pile of parts on the ground where the television once was. Don walks over, crouches near the remains. 

"Looks like someone took it apart. Some of the important pieces are missing." He stands back up. Meanwhile, Leo wanders towards the kitchen. "What the-"he gasps. 

The others rush over, and all of them stop in surprise.

The kitchen is completely _trashed_. 

All the cupboards have been left open; some of the doors are hanging by their hinges alone. There are burn marks around the walls of the stove, and the floor is covered in pizza boxes and other fast food bags. The entire room is infested with bugs crawling all over the walls and floor.

"Ewwwwgh..."

"Grrroooossss!"

"That's it, I'm out." Raph says,backing out with his hands up in the universal  _I'm not dealing with this_ gesture.

Don mentally gags. 

"Yeah, let's move on," Mikey suggests weakly.

Cody heads back to the communal space, while the others gravitate towards their rooms.  

 

All of them find their belongings in different places that they had been before.

Raph's hammock is no longer there, and Don's box of scrap metal is also missing. Leo finds a set of scrolls lying on his futon that he does not recognize, and when he opens the scrolls he discovers that they are covered in strange markings that could be an unfamiliar language of some sort.

Mikey's room is far cleaner than the one he had left, aside from the dust, the floor is bare of socks, pizza boxes, and various comic books, and even the bed is made (albeit a bit sloppily.) 

"Hey, guys? Is it alright if I open these boxes?"

"Sure, no prob!" Mikey calls back.

"Let's see...this one's empty...and the other one just has what looks like an old journal." There's the sound of pages rustling. "Wait, this journal says it's yours, Mikey!"

Mike came barreling out of his room, "Really?" he bounces from one foot to the next. "You sure it's me? Cause I'm not the type to write my thoughts and feelings down. I save that for Raph, he _loves_ writing in his diary. Ow!"

Raph, who had followed at a more leisurely pace, bopped Mikey on the head again. 

"Leeeeoooooooo, Raph's assaulting me again!"

 

Donnie and Leo, having heard the sound of chaos, both entered the communal area. Leo sighs, "Mikey, I've told you before, please don't say that word unless you truly mean it. Raph, please stop hitting Mikey."  
Raph, smirking, says "I'll try, fearless."

Donatello, meanwhile was focused more on the journal in Cody's hands.

"Cody, does that journal have a date on it?"

"The first entry apparently took place...on June 2019. But, um, a lot of the pages are stuck together."

"What does that mean?" Mike asks. 

"I think it means that, at some point, we'll get to go back. Right, Don?" Raph asks. Everyone turns to Donnie

Donnie nods. "It's also quite possible that there are clues in this journal on how exactly we returned home, or will return home."

Mikey sighs out, "Man this makes my head hurt."

"If I get it back to the tower, I'll be able to analyze it and hopefully I'll be able to get access to the pages without tearing them. Would that be okay with you, Mikey?"

Mikey shrugs. "Sure, why not? I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"


	3. Journal Entry #1

**Jan. 16th 2019**

At first I wasn't gonna write in the thing, but I figured as long as I don't write any personal stuff or anything, my bros won't have any leverage on me. 

Master Splinter says this journal will help express myself or something. 

Ummmmmm....

Not much is going on, really. There's nothing to do, cause the TV isn't working and I've read all my comics and there isn't any ice cream left in the freezer. I think Raph ate it all. He's going to get it so bad, he won't even KNOW what hit him.

 

managed to turn raph's shell pink. best prank ever, but i'm hiding now so he won't kill me, and i case i die here is my last will:

everything i own will go to klunk.

i think i hear him coming

he sounds really mad

if i make it to the bathroom i can lock myself inside.

 

I barely made it, but now I'm safe.

 

wait i messed up. raph is sitting outside waiting. how long is he gonna stay out there? i'm starving

 

 


	4. Journal Entry #2

**Feb. 1st 2019**

sometimes i wonder what it would be like to have hair. maybe i would have blonde hair. it would look kind of weird on a turtle though.

why don't turtles have hair? i would ask don but he would start lecturing, and i'm lazy.

he talks a lot, and he's just way smart. sometimes i wonder if he's ever felt dumb in his life. i wonder what it's like to be smart like him tho it sounds stressful anyway.

 

raph got into a fight on the surface, and broke his leg!!! Master Splinter says he cant go out until he's healed and he sounded REALLY mad at Raph. 

then leo and raph started fighting with each other. i think it's been twenty minuetes but i'm not sure. when they fight like this it's better to barricade yourself away. i think don goes to his nerd lab. i just read comics in my room. 

maybe one day i'll make my own comics. i won't be able to publish them though.

 

sometimes I wish they wouldn't fight as much, but I guess they'll always be like that. maybe i'm dumb for being upset. i dunno.

 

cats are the best. klunk's here and everything seems so much better. he has a really loud purr. like an engine. he likes lying on my shell when i'm lying on my stomach.

do you think if klunk got mutated we would hang out and be best friends? I bet we would. 

 

 


	5. Journal Entry #3-7

**March 21st 2019**

Haven't written in a while. Not like I have much to say really.

It's nice to write stuff down i guess. 

possible band names

Taco SUPREMES (every1 would wear taco costumes)

Electric Turtles 

Air Guitar Squad

the tv's busted again. raph threw the remote at the screen again. Donatello won't fix it cause "he's on strike" so that means everything is boring and terrible. Leo doesn't understand how terrible this is.

He's all like, "well now you can train more" because he actually likes training.

weirdo.

 

**March 22nd 2019**

aside from some minor fights we broke up, nothing much is happening in New York crimewise. Personally, I think that's a good thing, but not for Leo or Raph-Leo because he's always paranoid when things are going well, and Raph cause he just misses beating stuff up. 

April came over and said her cousin had twins, and she was going to be away for a week. 

I wonder what it's like to have a giant family. 

 

**April 7th 2019**

don's also not on strike anymore, because he fixed the tv and taped the remote to the arm of the couch. not sure what we're going to do when the battery runs out.

 

**April 15th 2019**

Things are kind of weird around here. Leo and Don won't talk to each other anymore, and I don't know what to do or how to fix it.

  


	6. questionable choices

"Are you sure you should be reading this?" Cody asks, looking around at the four. They're now in the communal area of the tower, several days after the journal was found.

Leonardo shrugs. "It's Mikey's call, it's his journal after all."

When they all turn to Mike, he raises both hands and says "Hey, don't look at me! I didn't write it, I mean, I will, but if I read it I'll know what  _not_ to do!"

Donatello taps his fingers against his chin. "I wonder if finding this will mess up some sort of space time reality just by the fact that we now know this journal exists, which will no doubt impact our actions based on what's inside. I've been scanning the journal while everyone was looking at it, and it doesn't seem to be giving off any unusual energy..."

"So...does that mean we shouldn't read it?" Raph asks dubiously.

"I don't know." Don admits. 

Mikey starts flipping through the journal once more. "Guys, it looks like pages have been ripped out. Do you think they might have been important?"

"Doubt it. Unless...maybe your past self wanted to censor it? But...something about this is bothering me. I'm missing something important, I just can't quite figure out what."


	7. Journal Entry #75

**September 2nd 2029**

When the lair was destroyed, I didn;t think this journal would have survived, but apparently I was wrong on the count. Don's thinking about repairing it, just in case we need a second base or something, but he says he'll never really restore it to how it once was, because now we can live on the surface instead of the sewers.

It's weird how everyone knows about mutants now. We spent so much time hiding, and now it's all out in the open and stuff.

Weird. Super weird. ~~I can't help but w~~

Leo really took charge with the whole diplomacy thing, but I think a lot of leaders are looking at Master Splinter as an example of...something. Something good, I mean. Like, they can't help but respect him. 

For now we're all staying at April's farmhouse, but...Don's leaving to go to college, to get his official degrees, even though he's probably smarter than all the professors combined. 

Raph has started talking about starting his own dojo, which sounds AWESOME. 

Not really sure what I want to do. I've gotten some callbacks for interviews and stuff, and maybe I can do something related to...comedy? I think I'm funny enough...I mean, my bros think I'm funny, and most people seem to laugh at my jokes, so that's a plus. Maybe I can try and get my own show.

I never thought I would be saying that as anything but a joke. 

There's just so much more stuff that we can do now.

 

 


	8. finding sanctuary, part one

Here's the thing about the Purple Dragons: once you become a member, you're stuck there for the rest of your (most likely short) life. It's kind of like a job where if you mess up too many times they'll kill you, if you try and quit, they'll kill you, and if that doesn't happen, you're probably likely going to be killed by another gang during a skirmish and be one of the many counted as collateral damage. 

The risk is often well worth the reward, because being in the Purple Dragons gives you protection. The symbol is so recognizable that it stops would-be attackers, just because they know that an attack on a single member is basically a declaration of war.

Being in the Purple Dragons pays well, depending on how good you are at...well, being a criminal. While most would assume this involves straight up theft, murder, and arson, there are plenty of Purple Dragons who rise through the ranks by committing "white-collar" crimes. 

Technically speaking, there's no age limit, but you do have to prove yourself, battle-royal style against other candidates before becoming a full member. 

 

Being a fully fledged member is no easy task, but what's even harder is being a rookie, cause those guys are the ones tossed out as the first line of defense.

I managed to survive long enough, but a lot of people I was with didn't. Comes with the territory, you know? 

It shouldn't have bothered me that much, but it did. It kind of stuck with me, and it's something that I think I'll always take with me. 

I managed to avoid that guilt for a long time, but slowly it built up. I think it really hit me when I saw that the Purple Dragons were starting to specially recruit kids as young as ten or eleven to fight for the cause. I knew when I saw them that these rookies would be the first to fall. 

 

I couldn't handle that guilt any longer. So I left, simple as that.

 


	9. theories that don't hold up

Mikey is sitting on the couch playing video games, when suddenly the screen goes black.

“What the shell-“

“Mikey, you told me you were going to do ‘specialized training’, but all I see is you playing video games,” a voice drawls from behind the couch.

“Leeeeooooooo.” Mike groans, stretching out his brother’s name in a sing-song whine. “Don’t be such a buzzkill.”

Leo vaults over the couch next to Mikey. “I’m not a buzzkill, but I do think you should take training more seriously.”

“Okay.” Mikey sighs, before his expression brightens up.

“Hey, wait! This totally counts as training! Cause it helps with my hand-eye coordination and reaction times! In fact, why don’t you join me? This game’s a two player anyway.” He holds up a second remote, which Leo bats away.

“Not happening.”

“Awwww….but it worked on Dark Leo….”

“You played video games with him? When?”

“When he was living with us. Duh.” Mikey made a futile effort to grab the TV remote, but was stopped when Leo grabbed his arm in a tight grasp.

“Duuuuudddeeee, okay, I get it!”

Leo lets go of Mikey’s arm.

An awful thought occurs to Mikey.

Ever since the dark turtles failed attempt at breaking into the tower, none of the turtles haven’t seen them since. “You think Darius…killed them?”

“I don’t think so, Mikey.” Leo responds, brow furrowed in thought..

“I hope Darius didn’t kill them.”

The elevator pings.

“Kill who?” Cody asks, emerging from the elevator. Behind him is a tall teenager dressed in blue and grey, who nods at Leonardo and Michelangelo.

“Hello again,” the teen says, “You’re the turtles who came to my uncle’s shop a few weeks ago.” His voice is bland, and there’s very little expression on his face.

Mikey is a little unnerved.

Leo says, to Cody, “Mikey was mentioning that the dark turtles haven’t been seen in a while.”

“Well, isn’t that a good thing?” Cody asks, now curious.

“Not if they were killed, dude!”

“I saw them yesterday.” The other teen pipes up.

Cody turns to his friend. “Lorenzo, why didn’t you say anything? I asked you if anything had happened and you’d said ‘nothing interesting’!”

“I didn’t think it was interesting enough to mention,” Lorenzo replies, his face slightly confused. “You never said you were looking for them, and it’s not like the store hasn’t had weird looking customers before.”

“Wait,” Mikey cuts in, “they bought something? What’d they get, anyway?”

“Nothing. They came in, looked around, and then left. Nothing special. The purple one was talking with my uncle before I came in-something about an old journal? The old man said he had seen it at some point with a bunch of other stuff, but he’d got rid of it about six months ago and couldn’t remember where he’d tossed it.”

Leonardo exchanges a glance with Mikey. “A journal?” Mikey asks. “Seems kind of a weird thing for them to be interested in.”

“Did they mention anything about the journal?” Cody asks.

Lorenzo shrugs. “..Now that I think about it, the orange one did mention an interest in wanting to see his clone’s thoughts and see if they were dumber than his. I thought that was weird.”

“How would a dumb journal tell him anything?” Mikey asks.

“Maybe someone wrote in it about you guys. Like they were a reporter or something, and maybe they had interviewed you, or will interview you.” Cody theorizes.

“Guess we’ll never know for sure, huh?” Mikey says, dejected.

“Probably,” Leo agrees, slinging an arm over Mike’s shoulder. 

“So….what are you guys up to?” Mikey asks Cody, his voice now more energetic.

“Not much. Uncle just wanted me out of the apartment. Dunno why, but he said I should hang on with Cody for the day. Actually, he did seem kind of distracted, now that I think about it, said he wasn’t going to open the shop up today. But that’s normal behavior for him, the old man sometimes just doesn’t feel like working, so he just doesn’t.”

“You can do that?” Mikey asks, intrigued.

Lorenzo shrugs again. “He owns the place, so I guess so.”  
“You think it was the journal we found that they were talking about?” Mikey asks.

“Doubt it,” Lorenzo says. “Uncle said he threw it away, and Cody told me you found this journal just sitting in your old lair in pristine condition.”

“Do you think someone could have broken in?”

“I don’t know Mikey. I’ll ask Don.”

 

However, when Leo brings this up to Donnie, the genius turtle shakes his head. “Not possible. I scanned the lair, and it’s still as well guarded as ever. The only way in is through the front door, and it was still locked. There’s no way anyone could have entered, not unless it was one of us who did it, and we all know that didn’t happen.”


End file.
